Can we know how the earliest Europeans looked?

Share

Yes! Some of them, anyway. We know this thanks to DNA analysis from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, in Barcelona. Researchers there sequenced the entire genome of a male hunter-gatherer who lived around 7,000 years ago. His skeleton was found in a cave in northern Spain.

The first surprise? He probably wasn't pasty. He likely had very tan skin and dark hair, yet blue eyes! He was a hunting, gathering hunk! This means that European eyes lightened up before complexion. It has been thought that complexion changed first.

He also had specific immunity-related gene variants. These supposedly came from settling down on dirty farms with livestock. But he predated farming in Europe by a millenium. Which blows that idea out of the water.

Not so unexpected? He was lactose intolerant and didn’t eat many starchy foods. So, yeah, milk and potato chips came later. The most interesting thing? All this information came from the DNA of a third molar.

Share

Comments

Recently on The Loh Down On Science

About The Loh Down On Science

The Loh Down on Science is the fun way to get your daily dose of science in less than two minutes. The program explains the world of science with a dash of humor. Hosted by writer/performer and Caltech alumna Sandra Tsing Loh, it's a program for those who love science as well as for those who avoid it!